NORTH CONWAY – At a recent meeting, the Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees voted to pursue membership in the MaineHealth system. Memorial is the community hospital serving New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Valley.

MaineHealth is a not—for—profit health care system based in Portland. Its members include Maine Medical Center and 11 other hospitals and health—related organizations in Maine.

“Our decision to pursue this affiliation followed an extensive review,” said Gene Bergoffen, chair of the hospital’s board. “Our goal in pursuing it is to provide a secure future for the communities we serve, and for the hospital, its physicians and employees well into the future.”

Membership in the MaineHealth system, which will make MaineHealth the parent organization of Memorial Hospital, will allow the hospital to strategically partner with MaineHealth and its members to improve health care in the Mount Washington Valley.

“We believe that the MaineHealth system is a good fit for Memorial and especially our community, said Scott McKinnon, Memorial’s president and CEO.

“MaineHealth is ranked among the nation’s top 100 integrated health delivery networks, and is ranked #4 in New England. The vast majority of our outpatient referrals, and 89% of our inpatient referrals to another health facility, go to a MaineHealth organization, primarily Maine Medical Center,” McKinnon said.

Memorial Hospital approached MaineHealth about a potential membership and has been discussing it for more than a year. Working out the final details, including due diligence and regulatory approvals, will take about a year. This includes a review and approval by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

“We’re excited at the possibility of Memorial Hospital joining MaineHealth, said Bill Caron, Jr., president of MaineHealth. “Memorial Hospital is a high quality community hospital whose board and leadership share our values and commitment to health promotion and disease prevention. Membership in MaineHealth will help Memorial Hospital maximize its delivery of care to patients, realize efficiencies and cost savings and help to strengthen healthcare delivery in the Mount Washington Valley.”

MaineHealth system membership benefits

Under the proposed arrangement, Memorial Hospital remains a not—for—profit organization providing the same basic programs and services and with its assets, including charitable endowments, remaining in the Valley. Memorial’s Board of Trustees continues its community oversight role, establishing strategy and setting direction for the hospital. Scott McKinnon, Memorial’s CEO, continues to run the day—to—day operations of the hospital. The hospital’s relationships with its physicians, patient care staff and its employees will remain largely the same.

The MaineHealth brand will become a secondary brand of Memorial Hospital. MaineHealth will help Memorial further develop community health and wellness programs. Memorial’s CEO, board members and physicians will be participants on MaineHealth boards and committees setting system direction. MaineHealth’s administration will have input on Memorial’s operations, for example, budgeting, maintenance of local services and CEO selection.

The proposed arrangement has many potential benefits for health care in the Mount Washington Valley, including access to MaineHealth’s clinical technology such as telemedicine and integrated patient electronic medical records. Memorial will be better positioned for more specialty care delivered locally, potentially including clinical services like oncology, breast health and cardiac care.

MaineHealth will provide better access to continuing medical education for Memorial’s staff and an improved ability to recruit and retain physicians.

Why now?

“Memorial’s Board of Trustees is proud of the fact that we are a financially strong organization that enjoys a respected position in the communities we serve,” said Bergoffen. “At a time in which many community hospitals find themselves in a financially untenable position, we’ve achieved a positive operating margin over the last few years.”

“In the ever more complex and fast changing health care environment we face today, we feel strongly that Memorial can’t continue to go it alone,” Bergoffen said. “That’s why we’ve selected a strong partner that we believe is the best fit for Memorial strategically, and one that shares our values.”

“MaineHealth is not—for—profit and it believes that by working together, the communities its members serve can become the healthiest in America,” added McKinnon. “We share this aspiration with them.”

Memorial Hospital plans to hold community information meetings to outline what the proposed partnership with MaineHealth involves and answer any questions about it.